Hyde and go seek forgiveness
by buffyangelinfinitdesire
Summary: A version of Join Together in which Jackie doesn't act like such a doormat.
1. Chapter 1

Tears were streaming down Jackie's face as she paced around her room. How could he do this? How could he spend all summer fighting over her with Michael and then go out with someone else RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER?

Why did he do it? HE had cheated, and it was worse than all the other times she'd been cheated on, because his goal had been to hurt her. Knowing that someone you love set out to hurt you was devastating.

Knowing that he'd purposefully hurt her again (Granted this time it was more spur of the moment) was infuriating.

To top it all off he seemed to think HE was entitled to REVENGE. Revenge for WHAT? Not taking him back immediately? Not letting history repeat itself? Being confused and tired of being jerked around?

If he thought she was going to cave and try to get him back, he was out of his mind.

Tonight she would cry her eyes out.

Tomorrow she would rip Steven Hyde to shreds.

* * *

NEXT DAY IN THE BASEMENT

Jackie walked in and immediately started leafing through a magazine.

Hyde had been expecting either hot outfits or desperate attempts to get him back, or her to kill him with her bare hands. He was not prepared for her complete indifference to his existence. He was regretting teaching her the art of Zen. Apparently she'd gotten a little too good at it.

Donna was trying not to laugh out loud at the look on Hyde's face. Served him right for hurting Jackie the way he had. A pang of guilt shot through her for ignoring her crying best friend in favor of the enemy.

Donna moved to sit beside her friend, "want to go to the hub? I'm hungry."

Jackie got up "sure"

"Jackie!" Hyde screamed, seeming somewhat hysterical.

Jackie either didn't notice, or decided to ignore the slight tinge of desperation in his voice.

"Yes Hyde?" He fought the urge to scream. Jackie didn't call him by his preferred name, she insisted on calling him Steven. She called him Steven, puddin' pop, and baby; but she never under any circumstances, called him HYDE!

"UH nothing" he had screwed up badly.

She shrugged "whatever. Let's go Donna"

As soon as the door closed behind the girls, Eric and Kelso burst into laughter.

"BURN!" Kelso managed to get out between giggles.

"Sorry, man but you deserved that", Eric gave his opinion.

Hyde now realized that when he'd chose that biker chick over Jackie, he'd signed his own death warrant.

He was so incredibly screwed.

* * *

I know it's too short, but I wrote this at 3:00 am. Review or you will never know what happens next. Mwahahahaha! Did I mention I'm on a MAJOR caffine high?


	2. Chapter 2

"Did you see the way he looked at me? By the end of the week I'll have reduced that moron to a puddle at my feet"

Donna had never seen Jackie **this** vindictive, it was a little scary. "Don't you think you're being a little hard on Hyde?"

Jackie gave her an incredulous look, finishing the fry she had just popped into her mouth, before giving her friend a verbal reply "Donna he cheated on me. He pretended to be in love with me all summer, and then went out with that stupid blonde biker bitch right in front of me! I don't think a little groveling is too much to ask for."

Donna tried to interrupt, but her best friend was in full on rant mode. Resistance was futile in this situation, so she just sat back and listened.

"And he was so shocked when I didn't choose him right away, like what he did was so different than what Michael did. You know what Donna? It was different! It was worse!"

Jackie took a sip of her soda then launched back into her angry speech.

"Michael never WANTED to hurt me, He tried to be faithful, but he has the attention span of a goldfish! Steven…"

Jackie, who up until now had been pacing back and forth, screaming; plopped down in her seat, her voice dropping to a sad whisper.

"Steven hurt me on purpose, and then when I was ready to trust him and give him another chance, he did it again."

Donna was stunned at the amount of pain coating the little pixie's words. She had never understood why Jackie had always forgiven Kelso so easily, but took so long to forgive Hyde; but it made perfect sense to her now, Kelso had meant well, he was just… an idiot. Hyde had known what he was doing, knew the hurt that he would cause.

"Jackie… I am so sorry"

She gave her friend a sad half smile, "Yeah, me too"

Both were silent for a few seconds.

Jackie cleared her throat, "let's just go home."

"Okay"

"And plan ways to torture Steven."

After witnessing firsthand the hurt he had caused with his idiocy, Donna was in complete agreement.

The girls shared a devious look.

AT THE PINCIOTII HOUSE

Jackie and Donna were both sitting on their respective beds, shooting ideas back and forth.

"Okay", Donna started, "let's think. What does Hyde like?"

Jackie thought for a second, "OH! My cheerleading uniform! That always drives him wild."

Donna looked disgusted, "Okay, first of all, too much information! Second, how are you going to find an excuse to wear that? It's summer."

"Good point."

Both girls sat in silence before Jackie's face brightened, and she gave her friend a positively evil smile.

"I have an idea"

Donna was excited, "you thought of something that you do that turns him on?"

"Not exactly"

NEXT DAY IN THE BASEMENT

CIRCLE

(All circles will be strictly dialogue)

Hyde: How dare she give me back the shirt? She wore it. I know she did, cause it smells like her!

Fez: I do not understand. If you love Jackie and she forgave you for cheating on her, why did you go on a date with another woman?

Hyde: Hey! This is not m fault! She made me wait around for her to decide between me and KELSO. Raquel was just, like, payback

Guys: All look at him in disbelief

Hyde: (sighs) yeah, I'm not buying it either.

Kelso: So what's your plan?

Hyde: Plan?

Kelso: To get Jackie back

Eric: You don't have a plan do you?

Hyde: What? Of course I have… Yeah, I got nothin'

Fez: Well first you must stop blaming her for everything. You are beginning to seem like an ass.

Eric: Beginning?


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay man", Hyde started,"let's focus. How do I get Jackie back?"

Fez was the first to speak. "In my country, when a man does not appreciate his wife and she leaves him, it is customary to write a song and serenade her in a public place for forgiveness."

Hyde looked confused, "first of all, there's no way in hell I'm singing. Second of all our problem wasn't that I didn't appreciate her."

Eric chimed in. "I hate to side with Satan, but…"

"Okay whatever man, the point is; how do I get her back?"

"As the expert on all things Jackie, I may be able to help you out." Kelso offered in an infuriatingly superior tone.

Hyde clenched his teeth, "This BETTER not have ANYTHING to do with you two doing it or I SWEAR the police will never find your body."

Kelso visibly deflated "Fine!"

"I'm going against my better judgment here but couldn't you just, oh I don't know… APOLIGIZE?" asked a frustrated Eric.

The occupants of the basement stared at him as if the idea had never crossed their minds. This would be because it really hadn't.

"You brilliant bastard" Fez spoke with something akin to awe, and possibly worship, in his voice.

Hyde shook his head "No, man I tried that after I cheated on her and it didn't help at all. I am not subjecting myself to that humiliation again"

Without a word, Eric got up from the couch, retrieved the 'stupid helmet', and placed it firmly on Hyde's head.

"So let me get this straight. You cheated on her, apologized ONCE, acted like a complete tool when she didn't immediately take you back, then when she decided to forgive you, you chose someone else; and your too proud to apologize? If I pulled half that crap with Donna, not only would she kill me, she would bring me back to life so she could kill me again!"

Hyde began pacing the length of the basement. "I'm not the only one who needs to apologize! She compared me to Kelso and made me compete for her for three months!"

Fez looked at Hyde with concern. "Hyde, have you gone kooky?"

He stopped pacing, "What?"

"Fez do you mean coo-coo?"

"Okay I'm not hearing a difference." Fez's eyes widened as he realized that question had come from a girl. An angry red-head to be exact.

The gang, minus Hyde, inched toward the stairs; seeing as Donna was blocking the door. They knew a belated ass kicking when they saw one.

Hyde sighed "Look Donna, I…"

Donna held a hand up to stop him "Oh, don't you even dare Hyde! You are going to keep your mouth shut and listen to EVERY SINGLE WORD I say or so help me; I will rip your nads off and shove them down your throat!"

He gulped in fright, not daring to do anything but agree.

"Do you have ANY idea how much you hurt her? I WAS determined not to take sides, until she explained to me WHY she couldn't forgive you so easily and now I am completely on her side; Because YOU are an ASS."

He forgot his previous fear "Enlighten me Donna! Why did she torture me all summer, pretending to want Kelso over me? Why couldn't she take me back after I said I was sorry? Why did she take him back so many times, but wouldn't even stick around long enough to let me try to fix it?"

Her eyes flashed with rage "Because Kelso didn't ever set out to hurt her. You knew how hurt she would be, you were thinking about it the entire time you were with that skanky nurse! You intentionally broke her heart on an assumption. You didn't even care enough to make sure you were right! Do you know what Jackie said to me ten minutes ago? She said that maybe it was her fault. Maybe she should've just taken you back right away; she even suggested that instead of waiting for you to accept responsibility, she should try to get you back."

"Then why the hell isn't she?" he screamed

"I asked her the same thing. It's because she knows if she doesn't stand her ground now, you'll walk all over her forever until everything just falls apart."

Hyde felt the air rush out of his lungs at her statement. He hadn't walked all over her had he? "I didn't…"

"Oh really, when's the last time you gave into her instead of the other way around? When's the last time you did anything for her that was even slightly inconvenient?"

He'd never thought of it that way until now. He remembered all the times Jackie had gone out of her way to please him, how quickly she'd apologized when she knew she was wrong. She wasn't perfect and she made mistakes, but she always tried to fix not only her mistakes, but HIS as well.

Donna was right. He WAS an ass.

* * *

AN: _You want updates. I want reviews. I think we can make an arrangement…_


	4. Chapter 4

Hyde had been sitting alone in his room for over an hour, just thinking. As a general rule he avoided thinking. Sure, he thought about world issues, government conspiracies, and he was the go to guy for advice in his group of friends but he rarely thought about his own problems. If it was at all possible, he never thought about anything that might force him to realize something unpleasant.

That plan hadn't really been working for him lately, because he'd definitely had some unpleasant realizations today.

Realization #1: He was genuinely in love with Jackie. How freakin' ironic.

Realization #2: Jackie hadn't done anything wrong making him wait. Had the situations been reversed he wouldn't have been willing to give her a second chance at all.

Realization #3: If he used any Zen in this situation she was likely to kick his ass. She was surprisingly strong when she needed to be.

There was some higher power laughing at him. He was sure of it. After all if Hyde were a higher power, he'd be laughing at the jackass down here that treated the best thing that ever happened to him like crap.

Did he just think that? No, he **couldn't** have thought that. Holy freaking crap he just though that!

I'll take worst timing ever for three hundred Alex.

Realization #4: if he wanted Jackie back, he was actually going to have to get off his lazy ass and make an effort.

Realization #5: she was worth it.

Hyde stood up, squared his shoulders, and walked out the basement door.

Only to walk right back in again when he realized he'd left the stupid helmet on.

And also that he had no idea what he was going to say and if he didn't think it through now he was pretty much guaranteed to shove his foot in his mouth.

It was time to talk to someone that might actually be able to help.

It was time to talk to Red.

He could almost hear the cosmic laughter.


	5. Chapter 5

Hyde had been sitting on a stool in the Foreman's garage for at least an hour being yelled at. He'd always known Jackie was Red's favorite and that he would be on her side, but this fiercely protective reaction made Hyde wonder just how far his little pixie had snuck into this grouchy old man's heart; and also if Red was actually going to stick a foot up his ass.

He tuned in right on the last "Dumbass" of the lecture. Now came the actual advice he'd wanted.

"Steven, God only knows why that girl loves you, but she does. You go find her, and you _beg_ for forgiveness. Do you hear me Steven? _**Beg**_. None of that "Zen" crap you're always trying to pull! You listen to her scream at you and for the love of all that is holy don't be an ass about it!"

Hyde nodded, thanking Red, and went on his way to look for Jackie.

He found her in the second place he looked, The Hub. He should've known he'd have to do this in public. He played with the ring in his pocket toying with what to say, but then she saw him and it was a now or never type of moment.

She was about to leave, but he blocked the door. "I love you"

Smooth Hyde, _real_ smooth.

"It's funny how you only say that when you're trying to get me back" she tried to push past him but he didn't budge.

He should've gotten on his knees. He should've groveled; but no, he made things worse. "Come on Jackie don't you think you're being unreasonable?" He cringed even as the last word left his lips

'Huh.' He thought to himself. ' no screaming.'

And then she started screaming at him; in French.

"Je vais te tuer lentement et péniblement. Je vous hais! Tu n'es rien, mais un trou du cul idiot et je peux faire mieux! Maintenant, foutez le camp de mon chemin avant que je arracher les testicules et les enfoncer dans la gorge…"

He grabbed her by the shoulders and roughly covered her lips with his.

It had been far too long since he'd been able to kiss her; he didn't even notice her trying to push him away.

He did, however, notice when she kneed him in the balls with as much force as she could muster.

"Jackie, What the he…"

The expletive died on his tongue as he realized what he'd done. She wasn't his girl anymore, he had no right to just grab her and kiss her whenever he felt like it. Even when they were dating; had he pulled that when she was _this_ mad, she would've slapped him silly.

They weren't dating and she looked about ready to castrate him. He really couldn't blame her if she did.

"How _dare_ you?"

He had no answer; and the look in her eyes made him genuinely afraid for his life.

The room was completely silent, every occupant's attention focused on the soon to be bloody massacre in front of them.

Jackie, upon realizing Hyde had no excuse to offer, issued a command.

"You will stand there and listen to every single word that I say. You will not interrupt, you will not make excuses; and I swear if you try to blame me I'll make you regret ever being born. Are we clear?"

He nodded.

"You thought I was cheating on you, and instead of talking to me about it, you cheated on me with a nurse. When I dared to compare you to Michael, you had a hissy fit. You spend all summer trying to get me back, _**EXCEPT YOU DIDN'T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING**_! When I'm ready to forgive you, you ditch me for a random girl to 'teach me a lesson'"

Well when she put it like that, he sounded like a major tool.

"Do you have any idea what that felt like? To give you my trust again so you could immediately throw it back in my face? 'You didn't think I was gonna wait around for you all summer did you?' like I wasn't _worth it_. Let me tell you something Steven Hyde, I'm worth a **hell of a lot more** than you seem to think. I at least deserve a little respect. I'm not stupid. I'm not immature. I'm not weak. I'm not any of the things you made me feel like I was."

There were tears running down her face, and she was trembling; but she stood tall, refusing to back down again.

He was speechless. He knew he'd hurt her, but he had no clue how much.

He swallowed his Zen completely.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. I'm sorry for everything; but Jackie I do love you."

Hyde could see Jackie's resolve fading.

He pulled the ring out of his pocket. "It's a promise ring"

"What's the promise?" It came out as a throaty whisper.

He took a deep breath. "I promise that I'll stop jumping to conclusions, and that I'll never intentionally hurt you again. I promise I won't forget how much you mean to me again; and I promise I'll say I love you slightly more often; and…."

"And….?" Jackie prompted breathlessly

"And I promise that I honestly can't picture a life without you in it anymore. "

Jackie's eyes were watering, "Oh Steven"

She leaned in to kiss him.

When they pulled back she whispered in his ear, "If you ever pull something like that again, I'll make you beg for death."

He couldn't help but smile "Fair enough; and just so you know, I'm never humiliating myself like this again."

"Fair enough."

Yeah, there was no way in hell he'd ever be able to live this down.


End file.
